User Reviews

THE QUILLER MEMORANDUM (3 outta 5 stars)

The 1960s saw a plethora of two kinds of spy movies: the outrageous semi-serious James Bond ripoffs (like the Flint and Matt Helm movies) and the very dry, methodical ones that were more talk than action (mostly John Le Carre and Alistair MacLean adaptations). This is one of the better examples of the talky thrillers. Not that the movie is boring... there is lots of good, cat-and-mouse dialogue courtesy of playwright Harold Pinter. George Segal plays the hero, an undercover spy who goes to West Berlin to find out who killed his predecessor... who was on the trail of modern-day Nazis. Segal has surprisingly little difficulty in finding himself right in the thick of things... being captured and drugged by the baddies... and even having time for a romance with a German schoolteacher who may know more than she lets on. Parts of the movie reminded me a lot of the classic "The Third Man"... which I think the director was trying to emulate at times. Well, this is not quite a classic of that caliber but it is a very well-written and smoothly-paced "old school" thriller. Segal makes a very cool lead... witty and sarcastic, yet with a vulnerable side, too.

This isn't your standard spy film with lots of gunplay, outrageous villains, and explosions. It's a more realistic or credible portrayal of how a single character copes with trying to get information in a dangerous environment. The characters and dialog are well-written and most roles are nicely acted. I found it an interesting and pleasant change of pace from the usual spy film, sort of in the realm of The Spy Who Came in From the Cold (but not quite as good).

An almost unrecognizable George Segal stars in "The Quiller Memorandum," set in Berlin and made 40 years ago. Segal is a very young man in this, with that flippant, relaxed quality that made him so popular. This time he's a spy trying to get the location of a neo-Nazi organization. The cast is full of familiar faces: Alec Guinness, who doesn't have much of a role, George Sanders, who has even less of one, Max von Sydow in what was to become a very familiar part for him, Robert Helpmann, Robert Flemyng, and the beautiful, enigmatic Senta Berger.

This is a very good spy movie. Spy movies were the "in" thing in the '60s. This one doesn't have gadgets and goes more for subtlety. The last 30 minutes are tense and exciting, and the last scene, loaded with subtext, is just great.

This film has special meaning for me as I was living in Berlin during the filming and, subsequent screening in the city. Mind you, in 1966-67 the Wall was there, East German border guards and a definite (cold war) cloud hanging over the city. I loved seeing and feeling the night shots in this film and, as it was shot on location, the sense of reality was heightened for me. Very eerie film score, I believe John Barry did it but, I'm not sure. George Segal was good at digging for information without gadgets. A bit too sardonic at times, I think his character wanted to be elsewhere, clashing with KGB agents instead of ferreting out neo-nazis. I feel this film much more typified real counter espionage in the 60's as opposed to the early Bond flicks (which I love, by the way). Senta Berger was gorgeous! And, the final scene (with her and Segal) is done extremely well (won't spoil it for those who still wish to see it...it fully sums up the film, the tension filled times and cold war-era Germany). Also contains one of the final appearences of George Sanders in a brief role, a classic in his own right!

Very satisfying spy flick which, if it grabs you, may haunt you for a long time. Perfect and slightly ironic ending. Excellent musical score too.

As other reviewers have suggested, this Cold War Neo-Nazi intrigue is more concerned with subtle, low-key plot evolution than the James Bond in-your-face-gadgetry genre that was prevalent during the 60's-70's. George Segal provides us with a lead character who is somewhat quirky in his demeanor, yet nonetheless effective in his role as an agent. His dry but quick Yiddish humor shines through on many occasions, providing diversions that masquerade his underlying desire to expose the antagonists' machinations. His romantic interest is Senta Berger, whose understated and laconic dialog provides the perfect counterpoint to Segal's character. Alec Guiness and George Sanders have brief roles as Segal's Control and Home Office head, respectively, and both rather coldly and matter-of-factly pooh-pooh over the grisly death of Segal's agent predecessor. In typically British mordant fashion, George Sanders and a fellow staffer in Britain are lunching in London on pheasant, more concerned with the quality of their repast than with the loss of their man in the field!

That said, the story moves along in a neo-noirish, eerie fashion as Segal continues his search for and exposure of the Nazi cadre. Great job by Max von Sydow who articulately plays his villainous role to the fullest. The remaining cast, mostly German actors, fulfill the demands of their roles more than adequately. Nice plot twist at the end, especially for those who disdain trite endings. Good period piece!

Slow-moving Cold War era thriller in the mode of "The Spy Who Came in from the Cold," "The Quiller Memorandum" lacks thrills and fails to match the quality of that Richard Burton classic. After a pair of their agents are murdered in West Berlin, the British Secret Service for some unknown reason send in an American to investigate and find the location of a neo-Nazi group's headquarters. Unfortunately, the film is weighed down, not only by a ponderous script, but also by a miscast lead; instead of a heavy weight actor in the mold of a William Holden, George Segal was cast as Quiller. Despite an Oscar nomination for "Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?," Segal's strength lies in light comedy, and both his demeanor and physical build made him an unlikely pick for an action role, even if the film is short on action. Although the situations are often deadly serious, Segal seems to take them lightly; perhaps in the decade that spawned James Bond, he was confused and thought he was in a spy spoof.

Harold Pinter's screenplay, adapted from a novel by Trevor Dudley Smith, is "oh so serious" and perhaps too cerebral to be entertaining, at least without a charismatic star to carry the film. Among the few elements of humor are the scenes between George Sanders and Michael Helpmann, who dryly discuss the recent murders and their luncheon choices with an equal lack of interest. However, Sanders, Helpmann, and Alec Guinness as Pol, Quiller's contact in Berlin, appear too briefly to save the film. However, Max Von Sydow makes a strong impression as Oktober, leader of the neo-Nazi group; his performance is strong, authoritative, and genuinely menacing. Senta Berger appears in an ambiguous role as a teacher, who worked at a school where a neo-Nazi had also been employed. Quiller's lead in finding the neo-Nazi headquarters, Berger is the film's intended love interest, but her cool blank expressions fail to ignite any sparks between her and Segal, and the romance only exists as empty words in the script.

Michael Anderson's direction is pedestrian, and the few car chases are perfunctory at best. In the 1960's, spy films both serious and light were the vogue and many fine examples come to mind, like the aforementioned "The Spy Who Came in from the Cold," "From Russia with Love," and "The Ipcress File," among others. Unfortunately, "The Quiller Memorandum" does not merit mention alongside them.

This isn't your average James Bond knockoff spy thriller; the fact that the screenplay is by playwright Harold Pinter is the first clue. It's a bit strange to see such exquisitely Pinter-esque dialogue (the laconic, seemingly innocuous sentences; the profound silences; the syntax that isn't quite how real people actually talk) in a spy movie, but it really works.

Quiller isn't your average spy. He's played by George Segal with a cool superficiality that works very nicely; he doesn't go charging in with guns blazing -- he doesn't even carry a gun -- and the one time he does try to fight his way out of a sticky spot, he gets pounded. The other standouts in the cast are Alec Guinness as Quiller's controller, and Max von Sydow as the leader of the neo-Nazi cell that Quiller is attempting to crack.

At first glance, the movie is deeply frustrating, and the script appears full of holes, but in fact, it's so smart that it assumes the audience is bright enough to pick up on the breadcrumb trail of clues that it's actually leaving. All in all, I recommend it, but with reservations. If you like tidy conclusions and have limited patience with extreme subtlety, this may not be to your taste.

In the 60's, in Berlin, two British agents that are investigating a Neonazi ring are murdered. The Chief of the Secret Service Pol (Alec Guinness) summons the efficient agent Quiller (George Segal) to investigate the location of organization's headquarter. He contacts the teacher Inge Lindt (Senta Berger) expecting to get some clues to be followed and soon he is abducted the the leader Oktober (Max von Sydow) and his men. Oktober also wants to know the location of the British base in Germany and uses drugs in Quiller to get the information but the skilled agent resists. Quiller has a love affair with Inge and they seek out the location of Oktober. When they find, Quiller gives the phone number of his base to Inge and investigates the place. But soon he finds that she has been kidnapped and Oktober gives a couple of hours to him to give the location of the site; otherwise Inge and him will be killed. What will Quiller do?

"The Quiller Memorandum" is a dated, but still good spy movie. The cast is exceptional, with George Segal, Alec Guinness, Max von Sydow, George Sanders and one of the most beautiful and talented actresses ever, Senta Berger. The ambiguity of the conclusion is very clear for me but open to interpretation. My vote is seven.

Title (Brazil): "A Morte Não Manda Aviso" ("The Death does not Send Warn")

Having just read the novel, it's impossible to watch this without its influence and I found the screen version incredibly disappointing. I'm generally pretty forgiving of film adaptations of novels, but the changes that were made just do not make sense. George Segal's Quiller isn't intense, smart, calculating--qualities Quiller is known for--instead he comes across as a doofus by comparison, better suited to sports-writing or boxing, completely lacking in cunning. The original, primary mission has been completely omitted. Inga is unrecognizable and has been changed to the point of uselessness. Visually, the film was rather stunning, but the magical soft focus that appears every time Inga is in the frame is silly. It's not my intention to be obnoxious and list every point in the movie that strays from the book, but it's truly a shame that such well-crafted material--intriguing back stories, superior spy tactics--is wasted here. Really sad. A much better example of a spy novel-to-film adaptation would be Our Man in Havana, also starring Alec Guinness.

How did I miss this film until just recently? What a difference to the ludicrous James Helm/Matt Bond (or is it the other way round?) movies.

The Cold War atmosphere in Germany at the time was perfectly captured. I was there with the British Armed Forces from Jan 1961 until Sept 1964, and remember it well, and old memories came flooding back.

Not that I was a spy, but the first thing we were told on our arrival in Germany was that we were only there to give the Yanks an extra six minutes to prepare for, and retaliate to, a nuclear attack. Just how we were supposed to do that no one knew. Then we were told (as people tell their kids today) not to talk to strange men. Presumably they meant Communists.

In the British Section of West Germany, everything appeared normal, but the claustrophobic atmosphere of Berlin with the Wall and checkpoints ever present, was different. There was always the feeling of paranoia, of someone watching you. This movie brought it all back.

I'm well aware that "The Quiller Memorandum" was not a perfect representation of reality, but it's a damn sight closer to it than "Goldfinger" and all other similar types of pap. Spying is mostly a secretive, lonely occupation in which James Bond and Matt Helm wouldn't last a minute.

This exciting movie belongs to spy sub-genre being developed during the cold war , it turns out to be a stirring thriller plenty of mystery , tension , high level of suspense , and a little bit of violence . An American secret agent called Quiller (George Segal) working for MI6 (whose chief is George Sanders) travels to Berlin to uncover a deadly Neo-Nazi band . Defiant undercover spy Quiller carries out a nervy , stealthy , prowling around Berlin in which he becomes involved into a risked cat and mouse game , being chased and hunted , by a strange and sinister leader , known only as Oktober (Max Von Sidow) . As Quiller revolves around a plot that's more monstrously twisted than he imagines it to be . Twist piles upon twist , as a British agent becomes involved in a fiendishly complicated operation to get a dangerous ringleader and his menacing hoodlums . Meanwhile , Quiller befriends and fall in love for a teacher , Inge Lindt (Senta Berger) , and both of whom suffer constant dangers .

Taut, competent and sometimes very thrilling spy movie with intrigue , suspense and extraordinary acting by an excellent cast . As George Segal results to be the main attraction , he sustains interest in this moving tale of spies . Story's core is interesting and chilly script is dense with information and drama . The screenplay is pretty well in a film as ingenious as it is bitter . As writer Harold Pinter contributed to give the roles complex identities all their own , delivering a brooding collection of words , raising the flick to high level of intrigue and being especially acute in its observation of badness and nature human . This nail-biting movie is a thought -provoking thriller filled with razor sharp writings from the novel by Adam Hall -who is a pseudonym for author Trevor Dudley Smith- titled The Berlin Memorándum¨ , resulting to be refreshingly different from others spy stories of its era . The ultra-brisk editing and slick scenes movement leaves little time to consider some inadequacies .

The sixties took place a lot of two kinds of spy-thrillers : the adventurous and filled-gadgets James Bond's imitations such as ¨Oss 117 Agent¨ , ¨Flint¨ , ¨Matt Helm¨ , ¨Hugh Drummond¨ series and the methodical , cerebral ones in which to show the squalid , dirty side of spying as opposed to the luxury world of 007 , outstanding more talk than action , whose maxim representations are John Le Carre's novels adapted to cinema in various films such as : ¨The spy who came in from the cold¨ (1965, by Martin Ritt with Richard Burton), ¨Deadly Affair¨(Sidney Lumet with Maximilian Schell) and subsequently : TV series "Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy" by John Irvin , in which George Smiley was played by Alec Guinnes and ¨Russia House¨ (Fred Schepisi with Sean Connery) , this ¨Quiller Memorándum¨ belongs to this second class . The fabulous casting is first-rate with a top-notch star-studded . Exceptional main cast gives good acting , as George Segal as the dogged as well as humorous special agent and Senta Berger had one of his best parts as his sweetheart . And Max Von Sidow who does particularly well . Furthermore , Alec Guinness has all the most acid lines . Very good support cast such as George Sanders as Gibbs , Robert Helpmann as Weng , Robert Flemyng as Rushington , Peter Carsten as Hengel , Herbert Fux as Oktober's Man and Günter Meisner as Hassler .

Colorful and evocative cinematography by Erwin Hillier , including glamorous flow-images . This espionage film's marvelous score was composed by John Barry who became notable for the early James Bond spy film soundtracks , Barry composed the score for this film between the Bond movies Thunderball (1965) and You Only Live Twice (1967). The motion picture was compellingly directed by Michael Anderson (Dam busters , Around the World in Eighty Days , Logan's run , Millennium) and back-to-back consecutive espionage movie for director Michael Anderson whose previous film had been Operación Crossbow . This ¨Quiller memorandum¨ received three BAFTA nominations: Best British Screenplay , Best British Art Direction (Colour) and Best British Film Editing but failed to win any. Being followed by a television series Quiller (1975) starring the Quiller character was made nine years after this movie .

Released at a time when the larger-than-life type of spy movie (the James Bond series) was in full swing and splashy, satirical ones (such as "Our Man Flynt" and "The Silencers") were about to take off, this is a quieter, more down-to-earth and realistic effort. Segal plays a secret agent assigned to ferret out the headquarters of a Neo-Nazi movement in Berlin. His two predecessors were killed off in their attempts, but he nevertheless proceeds with headstrong (perhaps even bullheaded) confidence without the aid of cover or even a firearm! His investigations (and baiting) lead him to a pretty schoolteacher (Berger) who he immediately takes a liking to and who may be of assistance to him in his quest. Before long, his purposefully clumsy nosing around leads to his capture and interrogation by a very elegantly menacing von Sydow, who wants to know where Segal's own headquarters is! When drug-induced questioning fails to produce results, Segal is booted to the river, but he isn't quite ready to give in yet. He recruits Berger to help him infiltrate the Neo-Nazis and discover their base of operations, but, once again, is thwarted. Finally, he is placed in the no-win position of either choosing to aid von Sydow or allowing Berger to be murdered. The film illustrates the never-ending game of spying and the futility that results as each mission is only accomplished in its own realm, but the big picture goes on and on with little or no resolution. Segal is an unusual actor to be cast as a spy, but his quirky approach and his talent for repartee do assist him in retaining interest (even if its at the expense of the character as originally conceived in the source novels.) Guinness appears as Segal's superior and offers a great deal of presence and class. Von Sydow (one of the few actors to have recovered from playing Jesus Christ and gone on to a varied and lengthy career) is excellent. He brings graceful authority and steely determination to his role. His virtual army of nearly silent, oddball henchmen add to the flavor of paranoia and nervousness. Berger is luminous and exceedingly solid in a complicated role. Always under-appreciated by U.S. audiences, it's a relief to know that she's had a major impact on the German film community in later years. Special guests Sanders and Helpmann bring their special brand of haughty authority to their roles as members of British Intelligence. The film magnificently utilizes West German locations to bring the story to life. Widescreen viewing is a must, if possible, if for no other reason than to fully glimpse the extraordinary stadium built by Hitler for the 1936 Olympic games. The film has that beautiful, pristine look that seems to only come about in mid-60's cinema, made even more so by the clean appearance and tailored lines of the clothing on the supporting cast and the extras. By day, the city is presented so beautifully, it's hard to imagine that such ugly things are going on amidst it. Composer Barry provides an atmospheric score (though one that is somewhat of a departure from the notes and instruments used in his more famous pieces), but silence is put to good use as well. Is there another film with as many sequences of extended, audible footsteps? Fans of "Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory" will notice that film's Mr. Slugworth (Meisner) in a small role as the operator of a swim club (which features some memorably husky, "master race" swimmers emerging from the pool.) The film's screenplay (by noted playwright Pinter) reuses to spoon feed the audience, rather requiring that they rely on their instinct and attention span to pick up the threads of the plot.

In order to see how talented an actor or actress is, you usually have to see them contrasted in two entirely different types of roles. Yet George Segal displays a full range of intense and focused acting within this single film, alone.

It utterly amazes the viewer to see him flow into many contrasting emotions and expressions, varying widely from the initial cocky, almost giddy, happy-go-lucky guy he is for the first half hour.

Circumstances lead him into many trying situations which evoke very skillful, very convincing expressions and manner. That fact alone held my attention through this otherwise slow-moving script. Well, OK, Senta Berger will hold one's attention throughout as well, especially the men's. And though she plays a basically one-dimensional role contrasted to the fast-paced Segal, she brings a balance and mystique to the film which renders it even more viewable.

Max von Sydow is, as always, totally captivating in his performance, and holds his character in great, compelling form.

There is enough espionage-spy-thriller factor to render the film suspenseful, though it does not move as fast as some such films of this genre. Nevertheless, it is realistic and believable. It touches on a very interesting topic of post-war Germany which might have been illuminated in more detail. But if it is good acting you want, this is the film to see.

Languid, some might say ponderous mid-60's British-made cold-war drama (it could scarcely be called a thriller, more "The Spy Who Came In From The Cold" than, say "Thunderball") that for all its longueurs, does have some redeeming features. These include another superior soundtrack by John Barry, if perhaps a little too much son-of "The Ipcress File", some fine real-life (West) Berlin exteriors, particularly of the Olympic Stadium with its evocation of 1936 and all that and Harold Pinter's typically rhythmic, if at times inscrutable screenplay. George Segal, plays the edgy American-abroad new CI5 recruit (looking unnervingly at times like a young George W Bush!) before he started doing "genial" and reminds us that his previous part was in the heavyweight "Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf". Try as he might though, he can't quite carry the lead here, lacking as he does the magnetism of Connery or the cynicism of Caine. Alec Guinness gets to play a Smiley prototype but brings too much Noel Coward to the table. Max Van Sydow is better as the neo-Nazi leader, veiled by the veneer of respectability as he cracks his knuckles and swings a golf club all the time he's injecting Segal with massive doses of truth serum, while Senta Berger is pleasant, but slight, as the pretty young teacher who apparently leads our man initially to the "other side", but whose escape at the end from capture and certain death at the hands of the "baddies" might lead one to suspect her true proclivities. The movie wants to be more Le Carre than Fleming (the nods to the latter fall flat with a couple of fairly underpowered car-chases and a very unconvincing fight scene when Segal first tries to escape his captors) but fails to make up in suspense what it obviously lacks in thrills. I also expected just a little more from the interrogation scenes from the man who wrote "The Birthday Party". Watchable and intriguing as it occasionally is, enigmatic is perhaps the most apposite adjective you could use to describe the "action" within. In conclusion, having recently watched "Quiller's" almost exact contemporary "The Ipcress File", I have to say that I preferred the latter's more pointed narrative, down-home grittiness and star acting to the similar fare offered here.

Probably the most famous example of a solid American type playing an Englishman is Clark Gable from Mutiny On The Bounty. No one really cared that Gable did not even attempt an English accent the film was that good. But George Segal just doesn't cut it as a British secret agent in The Quiller Memorandum.

The film is not a bad one for a spy yarn and I do like the fact that Segal relies on his own wits as opposed to a bunch of James Bond like gadgets to do his job and extricate himself from tight spots. But he is just to darn American to be convincing.

Segal's mission is to infiltrate and possibly destroy a nest of neo- Nazis in West Berlin of Willy Brandt years. His handler is the bloodless Alec Guinness and Guinness's opposite number is Max Von Sydow playing the head neo-Nazi. Von Sydow is the best thing in the film, he's a gentlemanly but dangerous adversary. And of course there's the beauteous Senta Berger who was breaking into the international market in those years with Cast A Giant Shadow and Major Dundee as well as The Quiller Memorandum.

Segal spoils it though. His part was perfect for Albert Finney. Wonder what Finney was doing at the time?

While it's a '60s spy film in the same vein as THE IPCRESS FILE (the same sort of ingredients), it in no way matches the wit or intelligence of that particular espionage film. It moves a little too sluggishly under the direction of Michael Anderson, though it does have a wind-up that proves satisfying at the conclusion. Nor is it overly complicated, often the ruin of many a spy film. But the central performance by GEORGE SEGAL is played with the sort of humor and charm that would have worked better in a different kind of story--not an espionage film.

Segal's job is to find the identity of a Nazi group in post-war Berlin. He works without cover and is soon captured by MAX VON SYDOW and his henchmen who try to pry information from him. Unexplained, he makes his getaway and the movie turns into a spy chase with lots of plot loopholes that are never cleared up.

A distinctively inappropriate soundtrack by John Barry is off the mark even during the opening credits. His main theme, "Wednesday's Child", is nice enough but does nothing to add to what ought to be the suspenseful mood of this kind of thriller. Another shortcoming of the film is that Segal's character never seems bright enough to be involved in clever espionage. For a man on a delicate spy mission, Segal seems too laid back to be believable. Nor is the script by Harold Pinter anything special with less than crisp dialog. ALEC GUINESS manages to be intriguing in a small role but GEORGE SANDERS is completely wasted.

SENTA BERGER is lovely as the German schoolteacher who gets involved with Segal, largely due to physical attraction. There's a wistful "Third Man" kind of ending striven for, but it never has the same effect it had in the Carol Reed film. Nor, as I mentioned previously, is John Barry's score more than ordinary--surprisingly so, since he was capable of wonderful music for the James Bond films.

All told, a fairly routine spy story given nothing special in the way of treatment with the overall effect being one of quiet disappointment.

I wanted to make a list of all the things that are wrong with this film, but I can't - such a list would need much more than a thousand words. People tend to like it because "it's not like the Bond movies"; well, it's not - it's like "The Ipcress File", except that "The Ipcress File" was a genuinely smart and atmospheric movie, while "The Quiller Memorandum" is a clumsy, dated spy thriller full of pseudo-hip dialogue and plot holes. And considering how terrible its one fight scene is, it's certainly a blessing that it doesn't have any more. George Segal is a fine and always engaging actor, but the way his character is written here, he doesn't really come across as "a spy who gets along by his brains and not by his brawn"; he seems interested almost exclusively in the girl he meets, not in the case he's investigating, and (at least until the end) he seems to survive as a result of a combination of his good luck and the stupidity of the villains. I'll give this horribly dated film a generous **1/2 rating anyway; hell, you don't see a cast as great as this one every day!

Take a solid, healthy chicken's egg out of the hen house or the fridge… Now throw out all the substance, and just keep the eggshell. Dril several holes in it, the size of a pin, one the size of a small coin. Finally, paint the result in Barbie pink and baby blue… That's more or less what happened to Adam Hall's spy novel for this movie. If you have seen this movie, and it leaves you very dissatisfied or with a bunch of bright orange question marks, don't worry ! You HAVE been watching it carefully. Don't start thinking you missed something: it's the screenplay who did !

Believe it or not, but in the original story there's a pinch of "Satan Bug" (1965),as it involves a Jewish scientist who wants to wipe out the Nazi community in Argentina with a dangerous germ. There's also a sniff of "Downfall" /"Der Untergang" (2004) in it: the Inga from the book has been as a child in the Führerbunker playing with the Goebbels' offspring, until "Uncle Adolf" committed suicide. There's also a part in Hall's book, that could have been a chapter from "Enigma" (2001), as Quiller has to decipher a complicated message from a friend. This part is done in a very detailed way in the book. Hall's book is also full of psycho-analysis à la Freud. In his novel, Inga is working initially for Oktober, which she always considered as being almost as tough as the only man she ever looked up at, Uncle Adolf. So, when she notices that a captured Quiller is not giving in to Oktober's interrogation techniques, her desperate need for a strong figure starts to shift from the Nazi to Quiller. The Quiller of the book is a survivor of the concentration camps by the way. Now he's working for a unit called the Z-police and Z-commission. This "Zentralstelle" was established after the signing of the London Agreement, and tracked down about 7000 Nazi war criminals. (See Wikipedia for more information about the Zentralstelle or Z-Commission)

Quiller is called to Berlin, as the previous British agent, Kenneth Lindsay Jones has been found floating in a lake, killed by a sniper's bullet. As he hasn't been in Berlin since long, the Z-commission have prepared a memorandum with all the information available about a (neo-)Nazi group called "Phönix". Hence the title of the book. What the Z-people don't know is who the leader is, nor where they are hiding. In the end, it turns out that this leader of "Phönix", SS general Zossen has since the war become a respected member of the new German government under a false name. It's a quite complicated spy novel, but one with a storyline that makes sense. I can't say the same for the movie, I have to say. First at all, the title is never explained. Secondly, we don't hear about the Z-Commission, the London agreement. The Quiller in the movie is as British as Rockefeller, while Pol has become British. And no mention is made of him having been in a KZ during the war. I'm also irritated with what has become of the character of Inga, the disappearance of the germ side-plot, and I could go on for a while… That's why I think this egg not only has substance, but what is left is full of holes, leaving the critical watcher quite dissatisfied at the end.

Harold Pinter may be a BIG name with a large cohorte of aficionado's, but frankly, what he has done with this novel is nothing less than a shame. Can you imagine what would have become of let's say "The day of the jackal" script, if he would have used the same frivolous surgical techniques he used on the Quiller-memorandum ? Would the OAS top have met the Jackal in a Mexican desert ? Or would Pinter maybe have dropped the whole OAS angle ? Thrown out the special gun ? Would the cold blooded killer invented by Forsythe have become a somewhat bumbling American with a Okie accent ? I'm neither very pleased with the choice of George Segal as Quiller. He was fun in "St Valentine's day massacre" (1967), he really gave me the creeps as the smiling but menacing Peter Gusenberg. But as Quiller, no… Somehow, he's not the right man in the right place, and certainly not someone I would sympathize with, as one should do with the hero of a movie. Max von Sydow though was very well cast as the gentleman-Nazi. Senta Berger is an extremely beautiful and elegant woman, but in this movie she's no longer a survivor of the Hitlerbunker as in the book, but a nice gentle school teacher, with a mysterious undertone.

The cameo's of George Sanders and Alec Guinness are of course top notch, but these wonderful actors only have a few Lines to say. The house in which Oktober questions Quiller is superb, and so is the Mercedes "Adenauer" used in this movie. But all this Barbie pink and baby blue extra's can't save this movie. A missed opportunity, Mister Pinter.

I have watched this film many times over and never tire of it. George Segal is Quiller an American/British spy who is recruited to track down some Neo-Nazis in Berlin. He meets Alec Guiness (who plays Pol the British spy boss) in the Olympic stadium in Berlin and is given his assignment. I really enjoy the all feel of this movie, the music, the era, the locations, the actors, the storyline - in fact everything. OK it has it's faults like most films, but I throughly recommend it to all you 1960s spy buffs. I also thought Senta Berger played her part very well along with Max Von Sydow who looks every bit a German gentleman. Listen out for Matt Monro singing Wednesday's Child being the theme tune to the film.

This film was made in the heyday of spy mania (mid sixties). But this isn't another cheap Bond ripoff. It's more like the more well known spythriller The Man Who Came In From The Cold. It's gritty, realistic and tense. Segal does a solid job, Guinness is excellent as is Von Sydow. Also top marks for Barry's score. A.

The only redeeming features of The Quiller Memorandum are the scenes of Berlin with its old U-Bahn train and wonderful Mercedes automobiles, and the presence of two beautiful German women, Senta Berger and Edith Schneider; those two females epitomize Teutonic womanhood for me. As for the rest of the movie, the plot, acting, and dialog are absolutely atrocious; even the footsteps are dubbed - click, click, click.

George Segal is horribly miscast as a spy; he comes across as nothing more than an American smartaleck - though his German is pretty darn good. But it's laughable that the guy he plays could ever bed the likes of Senta Berger. Alec Guiness can't do anything with his role and looks like an ineffectual spy controller - I haven't ever seen him perform this badly - and Max Von Sydow looks like a poorly made up Hermann Munster. In fact, there's a certain air of campness that pervades this entire film; the actors don't appear to take their roles seriously at all.

There was a whole raft of spy films that came out in the 60's, but absolutely none of them can hold a candle to LeCarre's "The Spy Who Came In From The Cold" with Richard Burton and Claire Bloom. The Quiller Memorandum is way back in the pack of those movies, and if it's worth a look at all it's only for the sake of 1960's German nostalgia.